The Demise of Stark
by TheUSofCalzona
Summary: Arizona returns, much to the surprise of everyone, including one Dr. Stark. Season 7 Story


A/N - Had this on my LJ and wanted to bring it over!

Cowritten with walking_weapon

* * *

Arizona Robbins was back. The clinic and hospital she was building had both burned down in a fire set by protestors. Turns out lesbians in Africa aren't the most welcome occurrence. The Carter Madison people had cut her funding and forced her back home 11 months and 3 days after she left rather than incur the bad PR getting in a spat with Malawian government would have caused. Never mind the bad PR pulling funding for a lesbian would get them if Arizona told her story since they'd had her sign a nondisclosure agreement in return for allowing her select a substitute for the funding.

All in all it sucked and she was still trying to wrap her head around how her life had become so messed up. But, it is what it was, and right now that meant that she was back at Seattle Grace. More specifically standing at a nurses station with Teddy.

"Teddy do you know where..." Arizona looked down at her clipboard. "Dr. Stark is? He was my replacement and now that I'm back he's handing all the cases over to me."

"Does he know that?" Teddy asks carefully, glancing up from her charts.

"Richard told me he was telling him before I got home." Arizona says, looking up at the best friend she had at the hospital.

"Um...remember how surprised I was when you showed up on my doorstep and said you were back for good and could you crash on my couch for a bit? I'm pretty sure the chief didn't tell anyone you were coming back." Teddy says.

"Awesome." Arizona sighs, pinching the bridge of her nose. "So no one knows I'm back then?"

"Nope. Don't think so. And even the nurses need more than the 20 minutes you've been standing here to tell the entire hospital." Teddy chuckles before her face softens a bit. "I didn't tell her you were back. I didn't think it was my place." She says softly.

Arizona sighs as she looked down at the chart in her hand. In the short time they'd been friends Teddy had become annoyingly good at reading her, like now for instance. She had purposefully not asked about Callie since she'd been back and yet Teddy knew without even asking that that's the only person she was thinking about.

"Why hasn't Alex been working Ped's cases? He's been on your service for like 5 months." She asks to change the subject.

"Stark doesn't like him." Teddy says simply, giving Arizona a look. "The final straw was when there was an incident, I'm not sure what exactly, and Alex went rogue because Stark wasn't answering his page." She explains, glancing around before she leans in closer. "And just between us, Alex still works Ped's cases, just not officially. He goes and checks on the kids, updates parents, he picks up the slack."

Arizona was shocked, more than shocked. Alex was one of the finest, if not the finest, young Ped's talent she had ever met. He was good at his job, and when she left he was well on his way to becoming a fellow and then an attending in Ped's. Sure he was gruff around the edges, but he cared about the kids and was more than willing to go to bat with parents if her had too.

"What do you mean he didn't answer a page?" Arizona asks, her brain changing from Alex to Stark when it registers what she heard.

"It was the night shift and all the senior attendings were off. Alex and Meredith paged him, he didn't come, so they went rogue and fixed a kids ulcer. I don't really know anymore details than that." Teddy answers, looking less than impressed with her colleague.

"Is he working today?" Arizona asks, her jaw set and her voice a little a little too perky.

"I think so. Honestly we all just try to avoid him. He's kind of an ass." Teddy says with a shrug.

Nodding shrply Arizona turns to walk away, intent on finding out just what's been going on in her department since she left. She only makes it a few steps however when she feels arms, arms she doesn't know, hugging her tightly.

"Karev, what are you doing?" She asks once she figures out who her assailant is, her voice muffled in his shoulder.

"You're back." Alex says, holding the bear hug for several more long seconds before pulling away. "You are back right?" He asks, his voice as close to pleading as he gets.

"I'm back." Arizona say, straightening her lab coat and fixing her bear pin. "It was that bad?"

"Never leave again. Please. I'll kick Callie's ass for you, do every chart you ever have, get you coffee...anything. Just don't leave." Alex says in a rush, looking a little embarrassed as he finishes. "Yes it was that bad." He adds sheepishly.

"I want you to tell me about it before I talk to Stark." Arizona says as she places her hand on his should and starts to walk toward the Ped's wing.

"He's an ass. He's arrogant, condescending, and lazy. He's complacent, doesn't talk to parents much, and never explains anything to the kids." Alex lists off, feeling really good getting to say all of this out loud. "I mean he doesn't answer his pager and I'm the one on probation. How does that even make sense?" He grumbles.

Arizona heard each and every word Alex said, getting more and more upset that a doctor could do that. She knew she was more dedicated to her patients than most doctors, but to not answer a page? For a child? That was beyond callus. When they got to the wing Alex stopped walking and looked around a little nervously.

"You can go in the wing again, I'm kinda his boss you know." Arizona says gently, smiling a bit.

"So you're back, back? Like for real?" Alex questions, his eyes lighting up a bit.

"It was in my contract that I had a year to take my job back. It's only been 11 months. Starks contract is a temporary one." Arizona nods, her smile bright at the look on his face.

"Need a resident on your service?" Alex asks with a grin, prompting Arizona to chuckle.

"Go get me copies of all the charts for the current Ped's cases, and any cases since I've been gone that you think I should review. Put them in my office and I'll be there shortly to go through them with you." Arizona instructs.

"Yes ma'am." Alex grins, turning to go. "Oh, um...can I come watch you kick Stark's ass first?" He asks with a smirk.

Arizona laughed softly as she shook her head. Honestly she's kind of tempted to let him tag along and do a little ass kicking of his own, but she's too much of a professional for that.

"Go get the charts Karev." She orders before turning around and heading into the wing.

-

"Thank you Dr. Stark, but I am an Attending and I do know how to do my job." Callie says stiffly, writing something in her patients chart and then slamming it shut. Handing it back to the nurse with a stiff smile she turns to storm off, anxious to be rid of the irritating man.

"Dr. Torres get back here." Dr. Stark says as walks after Callie, grabbing her wrist and spinning her around. "You may get to wear the navy scrubs, but you are still learning. I have been doing this since you were in braces."

"Dr. Stark. Get your hands off me before I file a complaint." Callie says, her voice tight with barely restrained anger. Punching out a fellow attending in the middle of a ward filled with children would be a bad thing right?...

"Is there a problem here?" Arizona asks as she walks over, unable to hold back once she sees Stark put his hand on Callie. For all that's happened between them she still loves the woman deeply, and love extends to an almost life sustaining need to protect her.

"No, no problem. Just a little professional difference of opinion." Stark says with a forced smile as he removes his hand.

For her part Callie just stands there in complete shock as he brain tries to adjust and comprehend what she's seeing. She must be dreaming, or maybe having a nightmare since Stark is here. Hallucinating, yes that's it. She's finally cracked and is hallucinating. Arizona's in Africa so what other explanation could there be?

"We haven't met." Arizona says, extending her hand with a fake smile plastered on her face. "I'm Arizona Robbins, head of the Pediatric department here."

"I'm sorry but you must be a little confused. I'm the head of Ped's." Stark says patronizingly.

Arizona chuckles softly, still smiling politely. He really doesn't know who he's dealing with if he thinks patronizing her is going to get him anywhere. She's the daughter of a marine, she's been dealing with the old boys club routine since birth.

"I left 11 months ago. I won a small grant, but now I've been reinstated." Arizona says, underselling her achievement to use it later.

"Oh that's who you are. The Chief mentioned something about a former surgeon running into some trouble and wanting to come back." Stark says, a hint of mockery in his voice.

"The chief asked me to come back when he heard about how the project ended." Arizona tells him, trying to figure out the best attack method. "I have brought more money to the hospital in my two years here than any other department, including Plastics. You can see how he'd want me back."

"I don't know, with your shaky record at staying on long term I'm sure I can convince him otherwise." Stark smiles pleasantly, already thinking up ways to discredit the woman in front of him.

Idiot, Callie thinks to herself. Questioning Arizona's commitment to her work, to her 'tiny humans', is the surest way to piss her off. Now that she's a little less shocked, or at least less dazed, she can appreciate the situation better. And frankly, she thinks this is going to be the best entertainment she's had in ages.

"I've worked at two hospitals, Hopkins and here. I have won the Carter Madison, been in the running for the Harper Avery, and I've been rated one of the three best Ped's surgeons in the country." She hates to brag about her work, but this asshole needs to know who he's messing with.

"I don't see what that has to do with anything." Stark scoffs, though he shifts a little uncomfortably. Perhaps he should have done a little more research on who he was replacing.

"It means that I have a legal contract that is being honored. Now get the hell off my Ped's floor." Arizona orders, her voice deadly serious.

"Excuse me? Now look, I'm sure all those awards are nice to sit next to your flowerpot at home, but I've got things running just fine. Why don't you mosey on back to whatever backwater you scampered off to and go back to playing wet nurse?" Stark says snidely, dropping all pretense of being polite. She's challenging his authority and if there's one thing he hates it's that.

"Hey, disrespect me all you want but watch your damn mouth when you talk to her." Callie jumps in, no longer able to stand by while her lover…ex, her ex-lover is insulted.

"It's ok Calliope. I've got this." Arizona says softly, resting her hand on the other woman's forearm a moment.

"Now Dr. Stark, and I use that title loosely, I want you off of my floor and I don't want to see you back on it. Ever." Arizona says evenly, staring at Stark as if daring him to challenge her.

"Dr. Robbins, this is—"

"Get the hell out of my wing before I remove you myself." Arizona snaps, her voice as sharp as a razor blade. "I will take great pleasure is kicking your ass while Alex Karev watches." She adds with a slight smirk.

"Fine" Stark huffs. "Have fun with that ape. And enjoy the rest of the misfits this place seems to value so much." He snorts derisively as he gestures towards Callie. Muttering under his breath he roughly shoulders past Arizona and stalks towards the elevator.

Arizona closed her eyes for a second so that she can compose herself. Confrontation and her have never been friends, and considering she's been back inside Seattle Grace for less than an hour that's not exactly the start she was hoping for. Oh well, can't get worse right? Just as she thinks that she opens her eyes and they land unerringly on Callie. Oh…or maybe they can.

"You cut your hair." Arizona says, turning to face Callie squarely.

"I...uh...ya." Callie stammers. "You're back." She states, glancing around at the various nurses and interns watching them.

"I am." Arizona nods, giving her a small smile. "I'll see you around Callie." She says softly before tuning to roll off on her Heely's. A few seconds of cordial small talk is as far as she's willing to tempt fate where Callie is concerned.

"Arizona, wait!" Callie calls after her. "Did, um...did you need any help moving back into your office?" She asks awkwardly, shoving her hands into her lab coat pockets. She's not sure why she said that; expect that she just can't stand to see the blonde walk away again.

"I'd like that." Arizona says, giving Callie a careful smile. She wasn't expecting her ex to say much of anything to her, let alone willingly volunteer to spend time around her.

"I just finished my post ops so I'm free now if...ah...that's where you're headed?" Callie asks, stuttering a bit and kicking herself internally for it.

"I told Alex to bring all the charts to my office so I could go over them. I'm meeting him there now." Arizona says, hesitating a second before reaching out to touch Callie's hand. "Maybe we can kick Alex out and talk?" She suggests softly, terrified of being shot down.

"I'd really, really like that." Callie says, letting out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding. Her hand tingles as Arizona slides hers into it and she nearly starts to cry at how perfect they still fit.


End file.
